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Monday, January 9, 2012

Surprise, Surprise

Extra Extra Read All About It!

"As you may have read in the New York Times, it’s an exciting time for Dungeons & Dragons. We are happy to announce today that we are developing the next iteration of D&D, and will be looking to the legions of D&D fans to help shape the future of the game along with us.

Our mission is to ensure that D&D enters its next 40 years as a vibrant, growing, and exciting game. By listening to the needs of the D&D community, we can meet this goal. As part of our increased efforts to engage with the player-base, we launched a series of weekly articles in early 2011, including Rule of Three and Legends & Lore, to give you a voice in our work. We’ve listened to both praise and criticism from all D&D fans, regardless of their edition of choice, and we’ll continue to do so.

That is why we are excited to share with you that starting in Spring 2012, we will be taking this process one step further and conducting ongoing open playtests with the gaming community to gather feedback on the new iteration of the game as we develop it. With your feedback and involvement, we can make D&D better than ever. We seek to build a foundation for the long-term health and growth of D&D, one rooted in the vital traits that make D&D unique and special. We want a game that rises above differences of play styles, campaign settings, and editions, one that takes the fundamental essence of D&D and brings it to the forefront of the game. In short, we want a game that is as simple or complex as you please, its action focused on combat, intrigue, and exploration as you desire. We want a game that is unmistakably D&D, but one that can easily become your D&D, the game that you want to run and play.

D&D is more than just a set of rules for fantasy gaming. It launched an entire gaming genre and played a pivotal role in creating the entirety of the gaming industry, both analog and digital. The game has lived and thrived because it has awoken a spark of creation, visions of daring adventure, wondrous vistas, and untold horrors that pull us all together as a community of RPG fans. It is the countless players and DMs who have brought it to life over the years. The game is at its best when it is yours.

For that reason, we want your participation. The goals we have set for ourselves are by no means trivial or easy. By involving you in this process, we can build a set of D&D rules that incorporate the wants and desires of D&D gamers around the world. We want to create a flexible game, rich with options for players and DMs to embrace or reject as they see fit, a game that brings D&D fans together rather than serves as one more category to splinter us apart.

We have begun obtaining feedback from a limited Friends & Family playtest consisting of internal employees and their gaming groups and soon we will be expanding that group to consist of members from our existing body of playtesters. Then at the D&D Experience convention in late January, Wizards of the Coast will conduct a special playtest of ideas currently in development. The D&D Experience will be moving to Gen Con in 2013, so as a convention special this year, we will be offering show attendees a first-look at a draft of the new set of rules. Then beginning sometime in the spring, we will begin open playtesting. Through our web site, we will release a growing set of rules, classes, monsters and other materials for your study and feedback. We seek to reach as many people as possible, from the gamer who just started with D&D last week to the gaming group that has been together since the early-1970s. For this process to work, we want to give a voice to all D&D fans and players of all previous editions of the game.

The next year is going to be an exciting one. There is a lot of work to be done, and I’m hoping you have the time, energy, and inclination to pitch in. We sure hope you do, as we seek to make gaming history by shaping the future of D&D, together. If you would like to sign up today to be notified when the playtest is beginning and how you can participate, click here: Sign Up NOW!"

This is the latest news across the web ... BUT is it a little too late for Wizards to win back players lost to other gaming systems like, Pathfinder RPG by PAIZO?

The signs were there, the rumours rife on the net, yet Wizards was tight lipped about the subject. Yes, they hold the brand name Dungeons & Dragons, but it’s going to take a lot more than that to win players back and get them to buy into their new edition. Will it be 5e or will they code name it something else? I for one am hoping that they drop the 5e and give it a new name. Maybe something along the lines of Dungeons & Dragons: Ultimate Edition. Let’s also hope that they keep the game true to the original this time round and keep the tactical board game version as a separate product.

I suppose you could say Wizards is starting off on the right foot by having an open beta testing program, but in my opinion they are going to have to do a lot more. A lot of players worldwide have invested heavily into other gaming systems both from a time and monetary value. I personally have spent my hard earning buying into Pathfinder RPG rules.

Time will tell if Wizards has learnt from their mistakes and if they will heed the advice given to them from their play testers.

I’d like to introduce you to the team that will be working on your DND Next.

Mike Mearls - Role: Team Lead - Twitter: @mikemearls

Greg Bilsland - Role: Team Producer - Twitter: @gregbilsland

Monte Cook - Role: Design Team Lead - Twitter: @montejcook

Bruce Cordell - Role: Designer - Twitter: @brucecordell

Robert J. Schwalb - Role: Designer - Twitter: @rjschwalb

Jeremy Crawford - Role: Devevelopment Team Lead

Tom LaPille - Role: Developer - Twitter: @TomLaPilleMagic

Rodney Thompson - Role: Developer - Twitter: @wotc_rodney

Miranda Horner - Role: Editor - Twitter: @mirandahorner

Be sure I will keep a close eye on this and will keep you updated as I find out more.

Glad to see Monte Cook and Bruce Cordell are on board. The only thing they really need to focus on really is the story and role playing aspects. I too would prefer and Advanced version of the rules and make psionics different then magic but easily define the differences and how they work.

Of course we all would like to see Greyhawk again. However we can keep the flame lit with the community alone if either case.

Interesting, very interesting... will watch the updates and track their progress to see what 5E might offer, but have invested a lot in Pathfinder and it is unlikely I will switch. But then again, Never say Never...

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